Power-operated gold embossing press



April 3, 1956 R. DE Lso FOWER-OPERATED GOLD EMBOSSING PRESS INVENTOR.

2 Sheets-Sheet l fl.. za..

April 3, 1956 R. DE Llso 2,7403

PowER-oPERATED GOLD EMBossING PRESS Filed Oct. 26, 1953 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INyENToR. RAL PH DL' USO United States Patent Ollice 2,740,2 17 Patented Apr. 3, 1,956

POWER-OPERATED GOLD EMBOSSING PRESS,

Ralph' De Liso, Astoria, N. Y.

Application October 26, 1953, Serial No.l 388,405

6 ciaims. (Ci. 41-7) The present invention .relates generallyto marking devices, and is particularly directed to improvements in marking devices adapted to render the latter capable of automatic operation.

The particular ernbodiment of the present invention, which is illustrated in the drawings and which will be described hereinafter in greater detal, comprises a cam follower mounted on the actuating arm ofa marking machine, a cam engageable with the cam follower for effecting movement of the latter, and drive means operatively connected to the cam for eifecting-V automatic operation of the marking device.

Heretofore, in theV art of imprinting or marking gold and the like on leather andv similar materials, it has'been necessary to use hand presses which are laboriousf and time-consuming in operation. This isparticularly so as such machines usuallyinclude'a heated die. for pressing.

a gold-bearing band against thev leather and,l therefore, require a precise amountv ofpressure overa-definte, predetermined time interval in order to produce an acceptable impression without damage or' waste.

Accordingly, it is a' general object ofjthe'present invention toprovide a simple andlefi'icient meansl for 'effectng automatic operation of a marking device of the type described, which meansV will permit operation by the exercise of only ordinary skill and. the rapid production of uniform, high quality markings withoutwaste of the marking material or damage tothe article being marked.

It is another object of the presentinvention to provide automatic Operating means having the characteristics mentioned4 in the foregoing paragraph which will. accuratelycontrol the imprinting pressure, and which will elfect rapid'action of the'marking .meansduring theworking portionof the cycle and relatively slow operation'during the rernainder of the. cycle to permit the feeding and withd'rawal of articles being marked.

It is still another object of the present. invention to provide automatic Operating .means having the abovementioned .advantages, which includes novel, constructional features perinitting the marking of materials of different thicknesses by a simple manual adjustment..

It is a further object' of the present invention to provide a device of the type described which is simple in construction, requiring a minimum of parts, which is durable, and reliable in operation, and which can bemanufactured and vsold at a reasonable cost.

Other objects of the present invention will become apparent upon reading the following specification and refe'rring to the accompanying drawings, whichform a material part of` this disclosure.

yThe invention accordingly consists in the features of construction, combinations of elements, and arrangements` of parts, which will be exemplified in the construction hereinafter described, and of which the1 scope will be indicated by the appended claims.

In thedrawings:

Fig. 1V is a front' elevational' view showing a' marking` machine having automatic Operating means constructed in accordance with the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a partial, side elevational view showing the device of Fig. 1 as taken from the right.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary side elevational view, greatly enlarged, showing constructional features of the Operating means of the present invention.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary, front view showing constructional details of the present invention.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary, side elevational view, similar to Fig. 3, showing a slightly modified form of the present invention.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings, the embodiment of the invention illustrated therein comprises generally a marking device, generally designated 10,,and the automatic operating means therefor, generally designated 30.

The marking device 10 includes a base plate or table 11 and an overhanging form or support 12, the latter being secured at its rear end to an upright or standard (not shown). The front or forward end of the overhanging support 12 is provided with a head 13 which supports a plunger 14 for Vertical reciprocatory movement, the plunger being normally urged upwards by a compression spring 15.

The lower end of the plunger 14 is provided, with a transverse frame 16 in which are journaled a pair of threaded shafts 17, 17 having hand actuable knobs 18, 18. Within the frame 16 and threadedly carried by the shafts 17, 17 are a pair of gripping or vise jaws 19, 19 for holding an imprinting or stamping die 20,, whichv is preferably heated by suitable means.

The frame 16 is providedon opposte sides of the jaws 19, 19 with'rollers 21, 21 for guiding a band' 22 of gold'leaf from the supply spool 29 under the die 20 and between the withdrawing rollers 23, supported by bracket 23a. Any suitable drive means (not shown) `is operatively eonnected'to the rollers 23 for advancing the gold band 22, by steps or increments, and operated by intermittent chain drive 23h, between the die 20 and' the leather 24 during the upward plunger stro'ke. A release mechanism and Operating handle therefor are shown generally at 25 and 26, and serve to permit swinging movement of the frame 16 for the removal and replacement of the die 20.

A laterally extending shaft 27 is journaled in the' head 13 and operatively connected by any suitablemeans (-n'ot shown) to the plunger 14;'for oscillating rotary movement upon reciprocating movement ofl the' plunger; A transverse arm 28 is fixedly secured to the shaftl 27 and lcombines therewith to provide a crank'for efiecting up and dcwn movement of the plunger 14 upon rocking'nl'lovfeinent of the crank arm 28. It will be' understood' that the construction described in detal up tol this point 'is cc'nventional in marking vdevices of the instant type.

The Operating meansV 30 includes a cam follower 31 arranged rearwardly of and adjacent to the distal endof the crank arm 28. The cam follower is generally Sector shaped and has one edge surface 32 adjacent to the,y arm 28 and provided with a lug 33 pivotally connected to the arm, as by a pin 34.- The other edge surfaces l35 and 36 of the cam follower 31 converge' towardJ each other and meet or merge at the edge portion 37. While the meeting edge portion 37 of the convergng edge 'surfaces 35 and 36 has been illustrated as angular, itl will be understood that such portion may be curved or other- Wise shaped to provide the denied-movement.. As'the sector shaped cam follower 31 is pivotally' connected to the crank arm 28 by the pin 34, it is' seen that the meet- E the pin 34, a tension spring 38 is connected between the cam follower and the Crank arm to resiliently urge the former toward the latter. A set screw 39 extends thread' edly through the Crank arm 28 and engages the cam follower 31 to limit the movement of the latter toward the crank arm to any selected position; and, a lock nut `40 is provided on the set screw 39 to prevent undesired movement of the latter with respect to the Crank arm.

It will now be apparent that the set screw 39 selectively positions the cam follower With respect to the Crank arm, and the spring 38 serves to yieldably retain the cam follower in the selected position. For reasons which will become apparent hereinafter, a handle rod 41 extends outwardly from the cam follower' 33. and is fixedly secured thereto, adjacent to the distal end of the Crank arm 28.

Fixedly secured on the upper side of the ovcrhanging arm 12 is a horizontally disposed table or bed 44' which supports a pair of journal bearings 45 and 46.

A horizontally disposed, transversely extending shaft 47 is journaled in the bearings 45 and 46 and carries on one end an ovaloid or elipsoid cam 48. As seen in Figs. 2 and 3, the ovaloid cam 48 is mounted for rotative movement about the axis of shaft 47 which extends eccentrically through the cam, adjacent to one end thereof 49. The other cam end 50 is engageable with the cam follower 31, as will be seen more fully hereinafter.

In order to drive the cam 48, a sprocket wheel 51 is keyed to the shaft 47, intermediate the ends of the latter, and a sprocket chain 52 is trained over the sprocket wheel 51 and a drive wheel (not shown) on the drive shaft 53 of the electric motor 54. It is preferred to electrically connect an on-oif foot switch 55 to the motor 54 for actuating the latter.

In operation, the motor 54 is energized by depressing the foot switch 55 and the shaft 47 carries the cam 48 in a rotary, counter-clockwise dircction, as indicated by the arrows in Figs. 2 and 3. As the cam moves downward, its leading or lower side edge will contact and slide along the cam follower edge surface 35, causing the latter to swing forwardly in a counter-clockwise direction. It will be noticed that the contacting point on the cam 48 will be of increasing distance from the shaft 47 and, hence, of increasing Velocity. Further, the contacted point on the edge surface 35 will be moving closer to the shaft 27 to effect increasing angular Velocity of the latter, in addition to the above-mentioned Velocity increase. Therefore, the motion imparted to the Crank arm 28 by contact of the lower side edge of the cam 48 with the edge surface 35 of the cam follower 31 will be of increasing Velocity, so that the downward movement of the plunger 14 will be at an increasing rate of speed. The end 50 of the cam 48 will slidably engage the merging surface portion 37 of the cam follower 31 during the lower or working stroke portion of the plunger 14 to impress the die 20 and band 22 against the work 24. Upon continued counter-clockwise rotation of the cam 48, the trailing or upper side edge of the latter will slidingly engage with the Cam follower edge surface 36 and permit clockwise rotation of the crank arm 28. As the contact point of the upper' cam side edge will be of decreasing radius or distance from the shaft 47, and hence of decreasing Velocity, the crank arm 28 will rotate in the clockwise direction and the plunger 14 will move upwardly at a decreasing rate of speed. While the contacted point on the edge surface 36 moves somewhat closer to the shaft 27, tending to increase the Velocity of the latter, this tendcncy is overbalanced by the abovementioned dccreasing Velocity. Howcver, the tendency toward increased Velocity on the upward stroke serves to quickly and cleanly remove the die from the work.

Suitable stop means (not shown) are provided to limit the clockwise rotation of the Crank arm 28 and permit free counter-clockwise rotation of the cam 48 until its leading side edge again contacts the cam follower edge surface 35 to repeat the above-described operation. It

will now be understood that the plunger 14 and die 20 will move through the last portion of the downward stroke and first portion of the upward stroke at a relatively high Velocity, while dwelling somewhat at the lowermost position and moving relatively slowly or not at all in the upper, non-working region. This timed arrangement, effected by the novel cam and cam follower Construction, permits an operator to insert and withdraw articles to be marked while the die is sufficiently spaced above the table 11. Of course, the gold band 22 will be moved the necessary increment during each cycle of die reciprocation, preferably when the latter is in its uppermost, non-working position.

While the marking device 16 has been hereinbefore illustrated and described as being adapted for automatic operation, it may under certain circumstances be preferable to employ manual operation of the device. Toward this end, the handle 41 is arranged for convenient gripping by an operator. Where relatively high die pressures are required, it may be necessary to clamp the cam follower 31 to the crank arm 28 to prevent rotation of the handle 41 about the pin 34 and permit the application of sufficient pressure.

It will now be seen that adjustmcnt of the set screw 39 will effect movement of the merging cam follower edge portion 37 toward and away from the crank arm 28, and thereby selectively determine the lowermost or working die position. That is, as the cam end 50 engages the cam follower merging edge portion 37 during the lowermost die position, substantially eifecting a dwell therein, movement of the merging edge portion 37 toward and away from the crank arm 28 will serve to raise or lower the lowermost die position.

In Fig. 5 is shown a slightly modified cam follower 31',v

wherein threaded fasteners or bolts 57 extend through and in threaded engagement with the crank arm 28' and threadedly into the Cam follower. Hence, the converging edge surfaces 35' and 36', and the merging surface portion 37' may be adjusted toward and away from the Crank arm 28' by rotation of the bolts 57. It will be apparent that this form of the invention is particularly desirable under conditions of frequent manual operation, as it is unnecessary to clamp the cam follower 31' to the crank arm 28' as in the first described form of the invention.

From the foregoing, it is seen that the present invention provides automatic Operating means for a marking device which fully accomplishes its intended objects, and which is well adapted to meet practical, conditions of use.

Although the present invention has been described in some detail by way of illustration and example for purposes of clarity of understanding, it is understood that certain changes and modications may be made within the spirit of the invention and the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. In a markng machine having reciprocatory marking means and a rockable arm for actuating said marking means, automatic Operating means Comprising a cam follower on said arm, a rotatable Cam engageable with said cam follower for rocking said arm, and drive means operatively connected to said cam, said cam being generally ovaloid in configuration and rotatable about an eccentric axis to afiord relatively quick action in the working region of said reciprocatory movement and provlde sufficient time in the non-working region of said reciprocatory movement for the insertion and withdrawal of articles being marked, said follower including a pair of converging surfaces merging with each other and engageable with said cam to increase the rate of said reciprocatory movement in the working region thereof.

2. A device according to claim 1, the merging portion of said converging surfaces being engageable with said cam during the working portion of said reciprocatory movement, and means mounting said cam follower on said arm and permitting adjustment of the merging surface portion of said cam follower relative to said arm for determining the extent of said reciprocatory movement during the Working portion thereof.

3. A device according to claim 2, said mounting means comprising a plurality of threaded fasteners extending threadedly through said arm and into said cam follower for holding the latter relative to said arm.

4. A device according to claim 2, said monnting means comprising a pivotal connection between said cam follower and arm to permit swinging movement of the former toward and away from the latter, resilient means normally urging said cam follower into its extreme position of movement toward said arm, and selectively adjustable stop means serving to limit the movement of said cam follower toward said arm.

5. In a mar'king machine having vertically reciprocatory marking means and a rockable arm for actuating said marl-;ing means, automatic Operating means comprising a cam follower carried by said arm and having a pair of 20 converging surfaces merging with each other, a generally ovaloid cam mounted for rotation about an axis adjacent to one of its ends, the sides of said ovaloid cam being engageable with the converging surfaces of said cam follower to effect a relatively quick action in the lower region of said reciprocatory movement and providing sufficient time in the upper region of said reciprocatory movement for the feeding and removing of articles being marked. i

6. A device according to claim 5, the merging portion of said converging surfaces being engageable with lthe other end of said cam during the lowenportion of said reciprocatory movement,l and means mounting said cam follower on said arm and permitting adjustment of the merging surface portion of said cam follower relative to said arm for determining thev extent of said reciprocatory movement in the downward direction.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

